A/N: Okay, the only reason I wrote this prologue was because you need to understand one main thing: Nessie and Jake were HAPPY before this book. Blissfully. No reason for doubt. It was absolutely perfect. When I started writing, I realized that an outsider might not understand that. Because they're going to be so angsty later XD
And the first part is because I'm a foreshadowing bitch.
Half-Truth
Prologue
I wasn't as strong as my family. Never was. I was softer, less durable. I was restrained by the need to rest. The ability to walk in the sun was of no use here. I had nothing.
I had never before regretted what I was, but in this moment, my most fervent wish was to be a true vampire. One that could move faster than anything on earth. One that could rip an ancient tree from its roots. One that could hear a pin drop miles away. One that could see the detritus that made a speck of dust. One that was an unstoppable force without the limitations inherent to my race. I felt, for the first time, less because I was partly human.
I couldn't beat her. I had no trump card, no ace up my sleeve. I had everything to lose and was stupidly betting my last card on a wager that could never be mine.
It was clearly ridiculous that I should love him. He wasn't meant for me. My capability to fulfill his needs was severely restricted. I wasn't good for him. He should have something better, much better than me. Something that wouldn't hurt him in the end.
I was meant for someone else, someone I also loved. Someone that I had loved ever since the first time I saw him. Someone that had already been broken before. Someone who didn't deserve to experience that again. Someone who didn't deserve my divided affection.
But even if he wasn't meant for me, did that mean that I shouldn't try to save him? In any capacity I could? Could I use my love for this one happy ending…for him?
Twenty-Two Years Earlier
Glancing up shyly at Jacob, I walked next to his slowly loping form. My eyes traced his form, taking in his lightly browned skin and sheared cut. He was shirtless – of course – which wasn't helping my lightheadedness. His toned body sent a shiver of…something…through me. The light brushing of hair down his lower abdomen that disappeared into his ratty shorts made me feel like running my hand down the trail.
He caught me staring at him and I blushed. "Penny for your thoughts, Ness?"
I couldn't tell him what I was feeling. It was too different, too new. I had never felt like this about someone before. He had always been there for me and I was very aware of his tie to me. We were like two sides of a coin, each completing and complimenting the other. Where he was mature, I was young. Where he was duty-bound, I was carefree. Where he was focused, I was easily distractible. Neither of us was perfect but together, we had a balance. Together, we were the epitome of perfection.
"You can tell me, whatever it is. I'll never judge you," he said, trying to read my face.
And that was what made this all the more complicated. He had imprinted on me. I couldn't be sure what that made him feel but it was strong, right? I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It was something like a witch's spell. Even if the spell never lifted, was it really him? Did he really love me, or was it only some kind of werewolf voodoo?
"Can you explain the imprint again?" I asked, only mentioning part of what I was thinking.
Jacob furrowed his brow and looked away. I knew he intentionally hid the details from me in order to not pressure me. He wanted me to feel like I had a choice. He didn't want me to choose him only because he imprinted. He wanted me to choose him because I loved him.
I didn't know exactly how romantic love felt. I had only loved my family. And as fiercely as my affection is for them, I knew it wasn't the same. It felt scarier to me; more unpredictable. Like one wrong word and I might explode.
"I'm completely yours," Jake said finally. "You're the thing that matters most. I would give up everything for you if you asked. I would do it even if you mentioned it in passing. I love you so much that I would do anything for you, even if it meant my life."
My eyes were wide. He had never said it so bluntly before. He stated his feelings like they were the most obvious in the world, like I was staring at a painting right in front of me and he was describing it to me.
"I would die for you, Nessie. You are my sun, my moon, my stars, my planet. Everything I do, I do it for you." He looked back into my eyes and studied them.
After a minute, he asked, "So what do you think?"
I gulped. It was now or never. "I think…I think…I might love you. Like, romantically," I said, feeling silly for having to qualify it.
He half-smiled down at me. "I might love you too."
The breath rushed out of my lungs and I threw myself around him without thinking.
"Oomph," Jake grunted, hitting the forest floor.
"Jake? Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't think about what I was doing. Did I hurt you? Should I take you to La Push? Oh my God, I cannot believe I just tackled you, I'm so sorry and…"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Jake rushed to assure me.
I bit my lip and looked down at us. I was straddling his waist, my hands on his shoulders. His hands had moved up to take places at my waist. When I looked him in the eyes again, they were tinted a darker color.
I moved my hands to his face and stroked his jaw with my fingertips. "Jake…"
He looked at me a little dazedly, his lips slightly parted. My gaze focused on his lips and I bent down without thinking and pressed my lips to his.
His hands tightened on me and he kissed me back, his lips parting and a sigh escaping his lips.
And in that moment, I knew that I was his as he was mine.